Iswamic fundamentawism has been defined as a movement of Muswims who regard earwier times favorabwy and seek to return to de fundamentaws of de Iswamic rewigion[1] and wive simiwarwy to how de prophet Muhammad and his companions wived. Iswamic fundamentawists favor "a witeraw and originawist interpretation" of de primary sources of Iswam (de Quran and Sunnah),[2] seek to ewiminate (what dey perceive to be) "corrupting" non-Iswamic infwuences from every part of deir wives[3] and see "Iswamic fundamentawism" as a pejorative term used by outsiders for Iswamic revivawism and Iswamic activism.[4]

Definitions vary of what Iswamic fundamentawism is and how, if at aww, it differs from Iswamism (or powiticaw Iswam) or Iswamic revivawism. The term has been deemed "misweading" by dose who suggest aww mainstream Muswims bewieve in de witeraw divine origin and perfection of de Quran and so are "fundamentawists",[5] and by oders as a term used by outsiders to describe perceived trends widin Iswam.[6] Exempwary figures of Iswamic fundamentawism are Sayyid Qutb, Abuw Awa Mawdudi,[7] and Israr Ahmed.[8] The Wahhabi movement and its funding by Saudi Arabia is often described as being responsibwe for de popuwarity of contemporary Iswamic fundamentawism.[9]

Form of Iswamism – Graham Fuwwer describes Iswamic fundamentawism not as distinct from Iswamism, but as a subset, "de most conservative ewement among Iswamists." Its "strictest form" incwudes "Wahhabism, sometimes awso referred to as sawafiyya. ... For fundamentawists de waw is de most essentiaw component of Iswam, weading to an overwhewming emphasis upon jurisprudence, usuawwy narrowwy conceived."[10] Audor Owivier Roy takes a simiwar wine, describing "neo-fundamentawists", (i.e. contemporary fundamentawists) as more passionate dan earwier Iswamists in deir opposition to de perceived "corrupting infwuence of Western cuwture," avoiding Western dress, "neckties, waughter, de use of Western forms of sawutation, handshakes, appwause," discouraging but not forbidding oder activities such as sports, ideawwy wimiting de Muswim pubwic space to "de famiwy and de mosqwe."[11] In dis fundamentawists have "drifted" away from de stand of de Iswamists of de 1970s and 80s, such as [Abuw A'wa Maududi] who

…didn't hesitate to attend Hindu ceremonies. Khomeini never proposed de status of dhimmi (protected) for Iranian Christians or Jews, as provided for in de sharia: de Armenians in Iran have remained Iranian citizens, are reqwired to perform miwitary service and to pay de same taxes as Muswims, and have de right to vote (wif separate ewectoraw cowweges). Simiwarwy, de Afghan Jamaat, in its statutes, has decwared it wegaw in de eyes of Iswam to empwoy non-Muswims as experts.[3]

Umbrewwa term – Anoder American observer, Robert Pewwetreau, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, bewieves it de oder way around, Iswamism being de subset of Muswims "wif powiticaw goaws ... widin" de "broader fundamentawist revivaw".[12] American historian Ira Lapidus sees Iswamic fundamentawism as "an umbrewwa designation for a very wide variety of movements, some intowerant and excwusivist, some pwurawistic; some favourabwe to science, some anti-scientific; some primariwy devotionaw and some primariwy powiticaw; some democratic, some audoritarian; some pacific, some viowent."[13]

Synonym – Stiww anoder, Martin Kramer, sees wittwe difference between de two terms: "To aww intents and purposes, Iswamic fundamentawism and Iswamism have become synonyms in contemporary American usage."[14]

Scripturaw witerawism – According to anoder academic, Natana J. Dewong-Bas, de contemporary use of de term Iswamic fundamentawism appwies to Muswims who not seek not just "to return to de primary sources", but who use "a witeraw interpretation of dose sources."[2]

Use of ijtihad in Iswamic waw – According to academic John Esposito, one of de most defining features of Iswamic fundamentawism is bewief in de "reopening" of de gates of ijtihad ("independent reasoning" used in reaching a wegaw decision in Sunni waw).[15]

Distinctions between Fundamentawism and Iswamism (or at weast pre-1990 Iswamism) according to Roy are in de fiewds of:

Powitics and economics. Iswamists often tawk of "revowution" and bewieve "dat de society wiww be Iswamized onwy drough sociaw and powiticaw action: it is necessary to weave de mosqwe ..." Fundamentawists are primariwy interested in revowution, wess interested in "modernity or by Western modews in powitics or economics," and wess wiwwing to associate wif non-Muswims.[17]

Sharia. Whiwe bof Iswamists and fundamentawists are committed to impwementing Sharia waw, Iswamists "tend to consider it more a project dan a corpus."[18]

Issue of women, uh-hah-hah-hah. "Iswamists generawwy tend to favour de education of women and deir participation in sociaw and powiticaw wife: de Iswamist woman miwitates, studies, and has de right to work, but in a chador. Iswamist groups incwude women's associations." Whiwe de fundamentawist preaches for women to return to de home, Iswamism bewieves it is sufficient dat "de sexes be separated in pubwic."[19]

Traditionawists accept "de continuity" between de founding Iswamic "texts"—de Quran and de Sunnah—and deir commentaries. Traditionawists take "imitation" (taqwid), accepting what was said before and refusing to innovate (bidah), as a "basic principwe, They fowwow one of de great schoows of rewigious jurisprudence (Shafi'i, Mawiki, Hanafi, Hanbawi). Their vision of de sharia is essentiawwy wegawistic and used to determine what is rewigiouswy right or wrong for Enjoining good and forbidding wrong. Traditionawists are sometimes connected to de popuwar forms of Sufism such as de Barewvi schoow in Pakistan)."[20]

"reformist" fundamentawism, in contrast, "criticizes de tradition, de commentaries, popuwar rewigious practices" (Maraboutism, de cuwt of saints), "deviations, and superstitions"; it aims to purify Iswam by returning to de Quran and de Sunnah. 18f-century exampwes are Shah Wawiuwwah Dehwawi in India and Abduw Wahhab in de Arabian Peninsuwa. This reformism is often "devewoped in response to an externaw dreat" such as "de infwuence of Hinduism on Iswam". In de wate 19f century sawafiyya was devewoped in de Arab countries, "marking a phase between Fundamentawism and Iswamism."[20]

Lewis, a weading historian of Iswam, bewieves dat awdough "de use of dis term is estabwished and must be accepted":

It remains unfortunate and can be misweading. "Fundamentawist" is a Christian term. It seems to have come into use in de earwy years of wast century, and denotes certain Protestant churches and organizations, more particuwarwy dose dat maintain de witeraw divine origin and inerrancy of de Bibwe. In dis dey oppose de wiberaw and modernist deowogians, who tend to a more criticaw, historicaw view of Scripture. Among Muswim deowogians dere is as yet no such wiberaw or modernist approach to de Qur'an, and aww Muswims, in deir attitude to de text of de Qur'an, are in principwe at weast fundamentawists. Where de so-cawwed Muswim fundamentawists differ from oder Muswims and indeed from Christian fundamentawists is in deir schowasticism and deir wegawism. They base demsewves not onwy on de Qur'an, but awso on de Traditions of de Prophet, and on de corpus of transmitted deowogicaw and wegaw wearning.[21]

John Esposito has attacked de term for its association "wif powiticaw activism, extremism, fanaticism, terrorism, and anti-Americanism," saying "I prefer to speak of Iswamic revivawism and Iswamic activism."[4]

[M]any wiberaw, progressive, or moderate Muswims wouwd describe demsewves as usuwis, or fundamentawist, widout dinking dat dis carries a negative connotation, uh-hah-hah-hah. In de Iswamic context, it makes much more sense to describe de fanaticaw reductionism and narrow-minded witerawism of some groups as puritanicaw (a term dat in de West invokes a particuwar historicaw experience)[22]

Ewi Berman argues dat "Radicaw Iswam" is a better term for many post-1920s movements starting wif de Muswim Broderhood, because dese movements are seen to practice "unprecedented extremism", dus not qwawifying as return to historic fundamentaws.[23]

In contrast, American audor Andony J. Dennis accepts de widespread usage and rewevance of de term and cawws Iswamic fundamentawism "more dan a rewigion today, it is a worwdwide revowutionary movement." He notes de intertwining of sociaw, rewigious and powiticaw goaws found widin de movement and states dat Iswamic fundamentawism "deserves to be seriouswy studied and debated from a secuwar perspective as a revowutionary ideowogy."[24]

At weast two Muswim academics, Syrian phiwosopher Sadiq Jawaw aw-Azm and Egyptian phiwosopher Hassan Hanafi, have defended de use of de phrase. Surveying de doctrines of de new Iswamic movements, Aw-Azm found dem to consist of "an immediate return to Iswamic 'basics' and 'fundamentaws'. ... It seems to me qwite reasonabwe dat cawwing dese Iswamic movements 'Fundamentawist' (and in de strong sense of de term) is adeqwate, accurate, and correct."[25]

Hassan Hanafi reached de same concwusion: "It is difficuwt to find a more appropriate term dan de one recentwy used in de West, 'fundamentawism,' to cover de meaning of what we name Iswamic awakening or revivaw."[26]

In 1988, de University of Chicago, backed by de American Academy of Arts and Sciences, waunched The Fundamentawism Project, devoted to researching fundamentawism in de worwds major rewigions, Christianity, Iswam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It defined fundamentawism as "approach, or set of strategies, by which beweaguered bewievers attempt to preserve deir distinctive identity as a peopwe or group ... by a sewective retrievaw of doctrines, bewiefs, and practices from a sacred past."[27] A 2013 study by Wissenschaftszentrums Berwin für Soziawforschung finds dat Iswamic fundamentawism is widespread among European Muswims wif de majority saying rewigious ruwes are more important dan civiw waws and dree qwarters rejecting rewigious pwurawism widin Iswam.[28]

The modern Iswamic fundamentawist movements have deir origins in de wate 19f century.[29] The Wahhabi movement, an Arabian fundamentawist movement dat began in de 18f century, gained traction and spread during de 19f and 20f centuries.[30] During de Cowd War fowwowing Worwd War II, some NATO governments, particuwarwy dose of de United States and de United Kingdom, waunched covert and overt campaigns to encourage and strengden fundamentawist groups in de Middwe East and soudern Asia. These groups were seen as a hedge against potentiaw expansion by de Soviet Union, and as a means to prevent de growf of nationawistic movements dat were not necessariwy favorabwe toward de interests of de Western nations.[31] By de 1970s, de Iswamists had become important awwies in supporting governments, such as Egypt, which were friendwy to U.S. interests. By de wate 1970s, however, some fundamentawist groups had become miwitaristic weading to dreats and changes to existing regimes. The overdrow of de Shah in Iran and rise of de Ayatowwah Khomeini was one of de most significant signs of dis shift.[32] Subseqwentwy, fundamentawist forces in Awgeria caused a civiw war, caused a near-civiw war in Egypt, and caused de downfaww of de Soviet occupation in Afghanistan.[33] In many cases de miwitary wings of dese groups were suppwied wif money and arms by de U.S. and U.K.

Muswim critics of Iswamic fundamentawism often draw a parawwew between de modern fundamentawist movement and de 7f century Khawarij sect. From deir essentiawwy powiticaw position, de Kharijites devewoped extreme doctrines dat set dem apart from bof mainstream Sunni and Shia Muswims. The Kharijites were particuwarwy noted for adopting a radicaw approach to Takfir, whereby dey decwared oder Muswims to be unbewievers and derefore deemed dem wordy of deaf.[34][35][36]

Iswamic fundamentawists, or at weast "reformist" fundamentawists, bewieve dat Iswam is based on de Qur'an, Hadif and Sunnah and "criticize de tradition, de commentaries, popuwar rewigious practices (maraboutism, de cuwt of saints), deviations, and superstitions. They aim to return to de founding texts."[20] Exampwes of individuaws who adhere to dis tendency are de 18f-century Shah Wawiuwwah in India and Muhammad ibn Abd-aw-Wahhab in de Arabian Peninsuwa.[20] This view is commonwy associated wif Sawafism today.

As wif adherents of oder fundamentawist movements,[37] Iswamic fundamentawists howd dat de probwems of de worwd stem from secuwar infwuences.

Some schowars of Iswam, such as Bassam Tibi, bewieve dat, contrary to deir own message, Iswamic fundamentawists are not actuawwy traditionawists. He refers to fatwahs issued by fundamentawists such as "every Muswim who pweads for de suspension of de shari'a is an apostate and can be kiwwed. The kiwwing of dose apostates cannot be prosecuted under Iswamic waw because dis kiwwing is justified" as going beyond, and unsupported by, de Qur'an, uh-hah-hah-hah. Tibi asserts, "The command to sway reasoning Muswims is un-Iswamic, an invention of Iswamic fundamentawists".[38][39]

Iswamic fundamentawism's push for sharia and an Iswamic state has come into confwict wif conceptions of de secuwar, democratic state, such as de internationawwy supported Universaw Decwaration of Human Rights. Andony J. Dennis notes dat "Western and Iswamic visions of de state, de individuaw and society are not onwy divergent, dey are often totawwy at odds."[40] Among human rights[41] disputed by fundamentawist Muswims are:

Caucasus Emirate is a fundamentawist Iswamic terrorist group residing primariwy in de Norf Caucasus of Russia. Created from de remnants of de Chechen Repubwic of Ichkeria (ChRI) in October 2007, it adheres to an ideowogy of Sawafist-takfiri jihad[58] dat seeks to estabwish an Iswamic cawiphate widin de Norf Caucasus and Vowga region (primariwy de repubwics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan). Many of deir fighters are awso present in jihadist battwegrounds such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and droughout Centraw Asia. Many pwots invowving Chechen and oder indigenous ednic groups of de Norf Caucasus have awso been dwarted in Europe over de recent years.

Aw-Shabaab, meaning "de Youf", is a Somawia-based ceww of de miwitant Iswamist group aw-Qaeda, formawwy recognized in 2012.[59] Aw-Shabaab is designated as a terrorist group by countries incwuding Austrawia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, de United Kingdom,[60] and de United States.

Congregation of de Peopwe of Tradition for Prosewytism and Jihad (Arabic: جماعة اهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد Jamā'a Ahw aw-sunnah wi-da'wa wa aw-jihād), better known by its Hausa name Boko Haram (pronounced [bōːkòː hàrâm], "Western education is sinfuw"), is a jihadist miwitant organization based in de nordeast of Nigeria. It is an Iswamist movement which strongwy opposes man-made waws and westernization, uh-hah-hah-hah. Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2001, de organization seeks to estabwish sharia waw in de country. The group is awso known for attacking Christians and bombing Mosqwes and churches.

The movement is divided into dree factions. In 2011, Boko Haram was responsibwe for at weast 450 kiwwings in Nigeria. It was awso reported dat dey had been responsibwe for over 620 deads over de first 6 monds of 2012. Since its founding in 2001, de jihadists have been responsibwe for between 3,000 and 10,000 deads.

The group became known internationawwy fowwowing sectarian viowence in Nigeria in Juwy 2009, which weft over 1000 peopwe dead. They do not have a cwear structure or evident chain of command. Moreover, it is stiww a matter of debate wheder Boko Haram has winks to terror outfits outside Nigeria and its fighters have freqwentwy cwashed wif Nigeria's centraw government. A US commander stated dat Boko Haram is wikewy winked to Aw-Qaeda in de Iswamic Maghreb (AQIM), awdough professor Pauw Lubeck points out dat no evidence is presented for any cwaims of materiaw internationaw support.

Fundamentawist Iswamic states and movements have been criticized for deir human rights record by internationaw organizations. The acceptance of internationaw waw on human rights has been somewhat wimited even in Muswim countries dat are not seen as fundamentawist. Ann Ewizabef Mayer writes dat states wif a predominantwy Muswim popuwation, even when dey adopt waws awong European wines, are infwuenced by Iswamic ruwes and precepts of sharia, which cause confwict wif internationaw waw on human rights. According to Mayer, features found in confwict incwude severe deficiencies in criminaw procedure, harsh criminaw penawties causing great suffering, discrimination against women and non-Muswims, and prohibition against abandoning de Iswamic rewigion, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 1990, under Saudi weadership, de Organisation of Iswamic Cooperation, a group representing aww Muswim majority nations, adopted de Cairo Decwaration on Human Rights in Iswam, which substantiawwy diverges from de 1948 Universaw Decwaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The Cairo decwaration wacks provisions for democratic principwes, protection for rewigious freedom, freedom of association and freedom of de press, as weww as eqwawity in rights and eqwaw protection under de waw. Furder it stipuwates dat "aww de rights and freedoms stipuwated in dis Decwaration are subject to de Iswamic shari'a".[71]

The Cairo decwaration fowwowed years of wimited acceptance of de Universaw decwaration by predominantwy Muswim states. As an exampwe, in 1984, Iran's UN representative, Said Raja'i Khorasani, said de fowwowing amid awwegations of human rights viowations, "[Iran] recognized no audority ... apart from Iswamic waw.... Conventions, decwarations and resowutions or decisions of internationaw organizations, which were contrary to Iswam, had no vawidity in de Iswamic Repubwic of Iran, uh-hah-hah-hah.... The Universaw Decwaration of Human Rights, which represented secuwar understanding of de Judaeo-Christian tradition, couwd not be impwemented by Muswims and did not accord wif de system of vawues recognized by de Iswamic Repubwic of Iran; dis country wouwd derefore not hesitate to viowate its provisions."[71] These departures, bof deoreticaw and practicaw, have resuwted in a muwtitude of practices and cases criticized by internationaw human rights groups. See human rights in Iran, human rights in Saudi Arabia, and Tawiban treatment of women for specific exampwes.

In a 2005 Lowy Institute for Internationaw Powicy Poww 57% of Austrawians indicated dey are worried about de rise of Iswamic fundamentawism.[72][73][74]Amos N. Guiora noted dat dis is eqwivawent to de number of Austrawians who perceived American Foreign Powicy as a dreat, he furder noted dat not just Muswim countries have an unfavourabwe opinion of de United States but a warge number of western countries such as: France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain and concwuded dat Austrawia was not an outwier on dis regard.[75] The Lowwy Institute cwaimed dat de resuwt "raised eyebrows."

A New York Times poww found dat 33% of Americans dink dat Muswim Americans were more "sympadetic to terrorists dan oder Citizens" Rik Coowsaet anawysed dis as indicating a high wevew of distrust directed at de American Muswim community.[76] The Times did dis survey during de Park51 Ground Zero Mosqwe incident. The Times cawwed de findings "appawwing" and awso anawysed de data as showing a very high wevew of distrust of Muswim Americans and robust disapprovaw of de Park51 Mosqwe proposaw.[77]The New Repubwic stated dat it does not trust de poww carried out by de New York Times and dat de figures wouwd be higher dan 33%. They furder cwaimed dat New York residents are towerant and if de figures were 33% in New York den "non-New Yorker fewwow citizens are far more deepwy biased and warped dan de Godam wocaws".[78]